


Everyone Needs to Shower

by Freedom_Shamrock



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Fluff, Gen, literal fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-07-18 15:44:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16121651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedom_Shamrock/pseuds/Freedom_Shamrock
Summary: Adrien is fed up with Plagg's cheese stink, and insists the kwami needs a shower today as well.  The end result is purrfect.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Justyna Kozdron](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Justyna+Kozdron).



> This was inspired by a piece of [art posted on Tumblr](http://justynadraws.tumblr.com/post/157151894094/everyone-needs-to-shower-even-small-furry-gods) by Justyna Kozdron. It gave me an idea and I couldn't help myself.
> 
> Super short ~~, and a one-shot~~.

As he pulled on a pair of soft flannel pants, Adrien caught a glimpse of their reflection in the mirror.  Plagg drifted about a foot away at head height, everything about him drooping and dripping.  He’d never seen the miraculous black cat so pathetic; he looked like a kitten that had been left out in the rain.  Snatching his miserable sodden kwami out of the air, Adrien rolled him up in a soft towel, surprised by both the lack of whining and the limp compliance.  A twinge of tightness and discomfort pulled at his chest, and he resolutely shoved it away.  He should not feel guilty for requiring basic hygiene from the literal bearer of destruction and plague.

Adrien crouched to a cupboard and pulled out a hair dryer.  He avoided using it too often himself, because the hell he’d catch for having split ends was far too high a price for the convenience of quickly dried hair.  Plagg didn’t care about such things.

“Hang on, buddy,” he murmured, hoping to reassure the cheese-snarfing menace who had somehow become one of his best friends. “This’ll have you more comfortable in a moment.”  He plugged in the dryer and turned it on.  The lump of towel barely twitched at the whine.  Carefully unbundling Plagg, leaving him in a bit of a nest, he turned the hot air on the soggy cat.  Without really thinking about it, he ran his fingers through Plagg’s fur as he moved the dryer about. There was something soothing and mesmerizing about the process. He focused more on touch, the warm air, the damp fur, the subtle purr under his fingertips. Had Plagg always had such soft fur, or had the shower really helped that much?

At some point, his brain registered that his kwami was dry, leaning into the touch of Adrien’s fingers. He opened his eyes and froze, nearly dropping the hair dryer in surprise.

“What?” Plagg grumbled. “You didn’t have to stop just because I’m dry, you know. I deserve something for enduring…  **that**.”

Adrien turned off the hair dryer and set it aside, scooping up the completely round ball of fluff his kwami had become. “Oh my god.  You’re adorable!”  His fingers resumed their gentle petting.  What had once been an odd looking, rangy cat, had become a totally soft, beguiling kitten.

Plagg glared at him, looking like a particularly sullen kitten. “I am destruction and death,” he corrected.

“Yeah.  Doesn’t change the other facts,” Adrien said in agreement.  “You are so getting showers on a regular basis.”

“Adrien, no!” Plagg whined, dragging out the last word.

“They’ll come with hair dryers and pets,” Adrien pointed out.

“Fine,” Plagg spat, though he closed his eyes and the tiny purr had started up again.  “But don’t tell Tikki.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead, and haven't fallen off the earth yet. I've just been super busy, and I will be back to finish the fluffmonth prompts eventually. I promise!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plagg's morning breath rivals his cataclysm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story **was** a one shot. But then Hilzabub suggested the importance of dental hygiene (how could I pass that up? I'm weak!), so here we are. 
> 
> This chapter is for day 7 of my ML WIP Completion Challenge

"Morning, Plagg," Adrien said, as he reached over to bat at his alarm clock and silence the incessant beeping. The kwami was curled up under the edge of Adrien's pillow, where he wouldn't be seen if someone happened to check on him in the middle of the night.  He harbored no illusions of privacy. "Plagg?" He grinned as the tiny black cat curled into a tighter ball. This was their morning routine. Some folks did coffee or pastries. He antagonized a being of great destructive capability.

Trying something new, he reached out with one hand, and poked Plagg in the side, pressing gently on the soft part of his tummy.

"I  **will** bite you," Plagg grumbled.

Giggling, Adrien poked him again, leaping back as the kwami popped into the air, claws flashing.  

He let out a mighty hiss, directly into Adrien's face.

"Bleagh!" Adrien flung himself backward, tumbling off the bed, reining in his gag reflex.  "Oh god," he wheezed. "Your morning breath might be as deadly as your cataclysm."

"Serves you right," Plagg snapped. "Pestering me while I'm resting."

Hygiene was a relatively new thing for the kwami, and Adrien was actually quite pleased with how the showers were going. Twice a week, he bathed Plagg, using special shampoo that they'd picked out together; it had mint oil that Plagg said made his skin tingle pleasantly. This was followed by a massage under the hair dryer.  He refused to admit he was allowing himself to be pet. That was beneath him, of course. Adrien couldn't help but notice that they both seemed less waspish with each other, and he'd felt more calm in general since implementing the routine.

"Say, Plagg," he said, considering the best angle for this next improvement.

Plagg shot him a glare. "No."

"No, what?" Adrien asked, trying to look innocent.

"No, whatever it is you have planned." He crossed his front paws over his chest.  "I know that tone, kid. You've got a tell, a mile wide."

"Seriously, though," Adrien said. "Have you ever considered brushing your teeth?"

Plagg blinked a couple of times. "Why would I do that?"  He stuck out his tongue. "Put that disgusting goo on my teeth and smear it about?"

"Well… you want those fangs to glisten, right?" Adrien suggested.  "Far more terrifying than corroded teeth that look ready to break in half. They'll catch the light, glinting nicely to strike fear into the hearts of your foes."

"Wouldn't bad breath negate the need for shiny teeth?" Plagg asked slowly.

Purrfect.  He was considering it.  Adrien had to tamp down on the enthusiasm.  "The bad breath is only good up close, and it's kind of an inelegant killshot. Seeing your teeth can lead to terror for the duration of an encounter whether or not you ever get close to whoever you're terrorizing."

"I'm willing to consider it," Plagg said after a long moment of thought.  "Show me what you've got."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 15 minute speed write
> 
> I'll be back to this story with chapter 3 on day 11.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-reveal Plagg and Adrien help Marinette out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was a one shot. But then Hilzabub made a suggestion (last chapter) and Dragon_of_the_Sea suggested a post reveal stress relief use for freshly bathed Plagg (and as noted last chapter, I'm weak!).
> 
> This chapter is for day 11 of my ML WIP Completion Challenge

Adrien returned to his room after dinner and went immediately to his little refrigerator.  "Hey Plagg," he called, pulling out a cardboard package and tugging at the tabs. "Eat up."

"There's not an akuma," Plagg grumbled. "And yet you clearly expect me to suit up."  He flew out from the trash can where he'd been lounging. "What's the deal?"

"What with her university applications pending and that imminent contest announcement My Lady is pretty stressed," he said.

Plagg gulped his cheese. "We're going to see Sugarcube and Cupcake?"  He darted down to hop up and down on Adrien's miraculous. "C'mon, kid.  Suit up already."

Adrien smiled.  "Never thought I'd see the day you were eager to transform."  Getting to know who his Ladybug was under the suit had, had all sorts of nice side benefits.  Not the least of which was cuddles and dates.

"Our **Ladies** need us," Plagg hissed, zipping up to poke Adrien in the nose.  "Say the words dude."

"Plagg, claws out."  He couldn't be upset with Plagg being as smitten with Marinette as he was.  He had a special affinity with Tikki, himself, so it was a good balance.

Chat Noir slipped out the window with the ease of years of practice and was darting across the rooftops the next moment.  In what seemed like no time at all, he was landing on Marinette's balcony. He listened, hearing her voice inside, and waited until he determined she was ranting to herself.  Poor Buginette. She tended to wildly catastrophize when she was stressed and worried. It was probably the same part of her brain that lead to such brilliant designs and that let her figure out the crazy uses for her lucky charms. He leaned down and tapped on her skylight.

Tikki phased through the window.  "Oh, am I glad to see you."

"That bad?" Chat Noir asked, reaching for the handle.

Tikki shook her head.  "I can't get her to listen to me.  She's going to make herself sick."

"So I'm welcome, then?" he asked, itching to see his girlfriend, but hesitating out of respect.

Tikki giggled. "You're not a vampire silly.  Now get in there."

He wasted no further time, lifting the hatch and letting himself in with the speed and silence that had become his hallmarks.  He dropped his transformation as his feet hit the floor.

"Look, Marinette," Tikki said, darting in front of her holder.  "It's our boys."

"Huh?" She looked up just as the green  flash faded. Her hair was a mess and she looked like she hadn't slept well in days. "Oh. Hi. I'm sorry, I'm not going to be very good company, but the waiting is kind of getting to me." The words came out in a rush.

"And that's why we're here Cupcake," Plagg said, rushing over to nuzzle her cheek.  He looked back at Adrien. "We need to haul out the big guns, kid."

Adrien smiled, pleased he and the cranky cat were on the same page. "I couldn't agree more."  He slipped an arm around Marinette's shoulders, ushering her to the sink in the corner of her room.  Getting the water to a pleasant temperature, he plugged the drain.

"What are we doing?" Marinette asked.  As he'd found in the past, random non-sequiturs tended to snap her out of her mental spiral.

"Grooming," Plagg said. "It's what cats do to comfort each other."

She stared at the black kwami as he rummaged in the small drawer for a sample bottle of shampoo.  The one he pulled out contained lavender. "Grooming? So you're going to wash my hair?"

"Pfft," Plagg giggled.  "Nope."

Adrien rolled over one of her chairs and raised it up. "Have a seat Mari.  I'm going to brush your hair while you give Plagg a bath."

Marinette sat down, still looking puzzled as Plagg nestled under her hand.

Adrien watched his girlfriend get started, her initial movements unsure until she got a feel for things, then he went to work on her hair.  He removed her ties and started at the end, working out the snarls as gently as he could. By the time her hair was smooth and silky, she was smiling a little as she played with Plagg in the sink.  Tikki floated over and helped Adrien brain Marinette's hair so it wouldn't tangle up again too soon.

"So when did this become a thing?" Tikki whispered.

"Ages ago, actually," Adrien said.  While he remembered the first time he'd made Plagg have a shower, he could no longer recall exactly what lead to it.

She shook her little head.  "No wonder you two have such a strong bond.  You've worked past his attitude and appealed to the cat."

"It was an accident at first," Adrien admitted.  "But it grew on both of us." He leaned over Marinette's shoulder to kiss her cheek.  "Okay. Bathtime's over. Time for drying." Tikki helped him find a towel and a hair dryer, and he set up a nest for them all to snuggle in on her floor.  Marinette was adorable as she scooped the sodden kwami out of the water bundling him into the towel and cuddling him close.

"Why is this working?" Tikki asked.

Adrien handed Marinette the dryer.  "Make sure you run your fingers through his coat so it doesn't clump up."  He winked at Tikki. "She's a caretaker, so this feeds that need. And petting a cat lowers blood pressure."

Marinette continued to contentedly scritch at Plagg well after he was dry.  She was able to set aside the blow dryer and use both hands. She looked utterly at peace., a nice change from her earlier state.

"You're so soft," Marinette whispered in a tiny squeal.  "Sooooo soft."

Plagg purred vigorously at her, nuzzling her palms.

"When did she last eat?" Adrien asked.

"Supper, but she mostly picked at it," Tikki said.  "Sleep is really the more pressing concern."

"You're the cutest softest thing ever," Marinette murmured.

"Okay, sweet Princess," Adrien said, easing her into a reclined position.  She was pretty adorable when she was overtired. "You just cuddle with the cutest softest thing ever, and Tikki and I will cuddle you."

She hummed in response.

Plagg slowly moved closer, encouraging Marinette to curl in further.

Adrien wrapped himself around her, pulling a blanket up over them both as Tikki settled on his neck.

"I appreciate this, Adrien," Tikki whispered.  "But I have to tell you, this is the weirdest thing I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of weird things."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wraps up the hygienic Plagg experience. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to visit me over on [Tumblr.](http://freedom-shamrock.tumblr.com/)


End file.
